Ghost Towns of Ontario

Ontario Canada has an astounding number of Ghost Towns. Some count over 200 locations! In the 1800s the government spurred development of the providence by creating a number of Colonization Roads. These were roads that penetrated deep into the wilderness and were meant to allow people to claim their 100 acres of land. Many of these roads wandered along rivers and connected existing trails and roads to create rudimentary transportation network across the providence.

Unfortunately many of these towns never grew very large. Farming was found to be pretty hard. Land would give out within a few short decades and become barren. Many people in these towns turned to timber or mining, some turned to servicing travelers along the roads. This just prolonged the inevitable fate of these towns.

There was also a large amount of mineral exploration in the eastern part of the providence. As we have seen in other places, former boom towns become ghost towns really quickly when the mines run out, or become unprofitable.